Fire be damned! The kitchen must move forward!! CHARGE!!!!!!!!!

The tricky part about this kitchen renovation is juggling between the past and present. The project started in 2012 but here we are in 2014 and it’s still ongoing. I’m left torn between wanting to jump right in and show you where things are now. Which I kind of did a couple weeks ago. And wanting to show you what it has taken to get to this point.

Today, we are going to rewind to July 2012. Back when 6″ of cast iron pipe was completely ruling my world.

Before beginning demo, I knew the drain stack for the upstairs bathrooms went down this corner but that little 6″ elbow jutting out to the left was not part of my schematic. As I lamented a couple years ago, this messed with pretty much every part of the kitchen plan because it pushed the entire wall of kitchen to the left 6″. When you’re only dealing with 120″ of kitchen, that’s kind of a big deal.

After whining about it for a post, I decided to put on my big girl panties and call the plumber to move it. At the time, $500 felt like a huge investment to make in 6″. Looking back, this was one of those – duh, why is this even a question? – things.

The plumber came out and used one of these pipe crackers to crack the cast iron pipe. Not a DIY project. (Well, I guess it could be but these suckers are expensive.)

That was pretty cool.

I was hoping that he could ditch the useless T & maybe even get the whole stack back a little closer to the back wall.

(The underside of the bathroom floor. You can see the joist we had to sister together.)

He mocked up the PVC pipe and installed it with rubber connectors at the top & bottom to the old pipe.

The pipe clamps tightened and, wham bam thank you ma’am, it was in.

Just like that.

They left and I sat there staring at it.

It just didn’t look right. The pipe looked a lot farther to the left than I expected it to and it didn’t look like I had gained all that much room.

So I measured. And I was right.

I only gained a couple inches.

Well crap. I just spent all that money. It wasn’t what I wanted. It didn’t turn out like I thought it would. Even worse – I told my plumber it was great. I told him I was happy with it. Now that he had left and I measured, I wasn’t.

I felt foolish. Why wasn’t I more clear with what I wanted and expected? Why did I say everything was perfect?

I sat on the floor, staring at this brand new $500 PVC pipe, and had my own private pity party.
And then I called my father. Mostly to whine.
And he listened. Like most fathers would.
And then he said what most normal, rational people would have just done from the beginning.
“If you’re not happy with it, call Mike (my plumber) and tell him. I’m sure he would much rather fix it so you’re satisfied.”

We hung up and I let my embarrassment linger for only a moment longer before kicking it to the curb and picking up the phone.

Now, before we go any further, I must say that I love my plumber but bedside manner is not his strongest of suits. He comes off as gruff and old school. His hands are calloused and seemingly permanently stained from decades of fixing things. He points out mistakes but offers solutions. He isn’t shy about telling you what should be done, how it should be done, and why. Even when he’s super busy, he always makes time for urgent calls (like when my boiler wasn’t working). He knows his clients and he’s fair. I like him (and wouldn’t call anyone else) but he can be a bit brusque.

“Mike? It’s Carrie. I know you JUST left but I’ve been sitting here staring at this pipe and it’s not right. I needed it to be further to the right.”
“I thought you said it was great.”
“I did… But it’s not.”

After far less grumbling than I expected, he turned around and came back.

At this point, I have NO idea how he’s going to fix it. I am not wrapping my brain around the twists and angles needed to get from point A to point B and still get the pipe to hug the back wall of the house.

The drain from the bathroom upstairs is a fixed point. The cast iron pip that continues down into the basement is a fixed point. And I want the whole thing to move to the right about 3″. I’d want to kill me too.

Mike came in. He stared and pondered for less than 3 minutes. Grumbled only a little.

“Because the top & bottom pipes don’t directly line up, you have to have this bend in it. Do you care if it’s at the top? I could flip it upside down. That puts the long run of pipe as far back as possible but then you’ll have the bends up at the top to connect upstairs.”

Nope! That worked just fine. The long run was taller than my fridge, so I could figure that part out later.

A few twists to loosen the pipe clamps around the rubber connectors. The entire PVC portion of pipe lifted out. Flipped upside down. And got clamped back in place.

And just like that it was perfect. For real.

Now go see what Sarah’s up to!

That’s not fear it my eyes, Sarah. It’s the realization that you are the hare and I am the tortoise. And we both know how that competition ends. Enjoy your head start.

In the ongoing saga that is my kitchen renovation, it may be helpful to bring you up to speed about what’s already been done and what is still left to do. Lets make a list.

The past (almost) 2 years sometimes feel like I’ve come so far and yet aren’t even close to the finish. Writing this list mad me realize that’s probably a pretty accurate feeling but mostly because what’s left is finish work that takes exponentially longer per task (compared to say – demo or sealing the brick).

Already Done:
Demo
Discoveries
Buy new appliances
Clean & seal the brick
Plan new electric
Install new electric
Install can lights
Run water to the back yard for outdoor spigot
Have waste pipe moved over
Install new flooring
Refinish floors to match existing floor
Box in plumbing chase
Mortar in new bricks
Build fridge box
Fix walls & ceiling
Prime room
Paint room
Install nook cabinetry
Install main wall base cab
Create dishwasher cab

Left To Do:
Build sink cabinet
Finish buying IKEA cabinets
Install 36″ base cab
Install 36″ upper cab
Pick soapstone
Have counters templated
Fix & reinstall top part of fridge wall
Install shelf in ladder nook
Build out cab above fridge
Install ply on ceiling of main wall
Prime & paint cabinets
Finish 24″ nook upper install
Build soffit cabs
Prime & paint soffit cabs
Install soffit cabs
Install cover panel to soffit cabs
Install 15″ upper
Drywall blind
Mud, sand, prime & paint blind
Install 24″ upper cab in blind
Counters installed
Install faucet & appliances
Install range hood
Install rail rack shelf

Other Stuff To Do in Room
Stain & finish windows
Build out pantry
Design & build island
Buy parts & build chandelier

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’m currently in India on a business trip. That’s made kitchen progress pretty slow this past week. Lucky for you, you still think the kitchen looks like this –

That photo was taken back in May of 2012. Through the magic of the Internet and working on it for the past year & a bunch, I’m excited to tell you that the kitchen now looks like this –

BOOM!!! Overnight success!

I may not have running water yet but I got some cabinets & paint.

Take that, Ug-Duck!!!!

I realize I’ve never actually showed you guys the plan for my kitchen. I never really wrote it down. It’s just floated around in my head

I suppose this is a good thing because, as the renovation has progressed, there’s been about 3 significant design changes switching cabinets around. I’m pretty excited with where the design ended up.

Here’s the kitchen back before demo.

In May of 2012. That’s right folks. This kitchen projects started June of 2012. TWENTY-TWELVE, folks.

I’m just gonna let that sink in for a few moments.

Yeah… Lets hope we don’t actually hit the 2 year mark when it comes to finishing the project.

So the plan. The one long wall will remain the main wall of the kitchen.

Sink > Dishwasher > Stove > 15″ base cab > Fridge

I originally had planned to have a bunch of upper cabinets on that wall. That included a 24″ cabinet over the dishwasher and another 30 or 36″ upper above the sink. But, during demo, I uncovered the original brick and loved it. (Duh. What’s not to love?)

Keeping the brick changed the design a little bit but something have remained the same. The kitchen will be a mix of custom, IKEA, and customized IKEA. In such a compact kitchen, I cannot afford to waste a single inch of space. It’s very much like designing for a ship or RV. I am until utilizing every nook & cranny and, in a lot of case, custom building stuff to fit the space.

It’s slow going as neither my dad (my reno angel & partner) or I are cabinet makers. We are set builders. Well, we’re not really set builders either but it is in our background. I went to school for theatre and built my fair share of sets during undergrad. Dad spent several years building the sets for my old high school’s productions. This space will look like a kitchen. It will function as a kitchen. But it is probably not going to be built like most people would build a kitchen. Especially not people who actually build kitchens for a living. Doing things our own special way has allowed us to squeeze out inches most people, would have given up. It’s also taking a long time. I guess you can tell where my priorities are.

Back to the main wall layout. Fridge & storage above & to the right of it are at the far end of the kitchen. The fridge is over as far right as it will possibly go, as there is plumbing in the back right corner. The storage above & to the right are completely custom.

The wall to the left side of the fridge goes floor to ceiling and boxes in the fridge. It also provides a great starting point for the rest of the main wall. The bottom is pretty much the same setup as the original kitchen (sink > dishwasher > stove) but my adjusting the plumbing and going from a 30″ fridge to a 24″ on meant I could squeeze in a 15″ base cabinet. Going from 0 base cabinets to 1 is HUGE for me. I cannot wait to have a place to store all my cooking utensils that’s actually near where I’ll be using them.

Along the very top of this main wall will be a set of 15″h x 36″w x 24″ deep upper cabinets. The doors on all 3 sets will be from IKEA but I’ll only use the cabinet boxes for 2 of them. The third (and farthest left) cabinet box will be custom made so that it is actually wider than 36″. By making it wider, I can utilize the space in the blind, so that isn’t lost.

These rather short (15″h) but super deep (24″d) cabinets will look almost like a soffit. Obviously they’re way too high to be practical for everyday use but its perfect for things like my party beverage tubs and other special occasion items.

Under the soffit cabs, above the 15″ base will be a 15″w x 39″h upper (thinking spices, oils, etc. but we shall see). Above the stove will be a chimney style range hood. Above the dishwasher will be an open shelf.

This shelf, to be specific –

It’s a rack from an old New South Railways train car. I know it’s hugely popular right now but I’m not a huge fan of lots of open shelving. I think it’s generally impractical and annoying to keep clean and uncluttered. (Commence blogger stoning/shunning)

This rack was too cool to pass up (thanks, eBay) and I think I can manage keeping 1 open shelf presentable. I think. No promises.

Then there’s the sink. Nothing on the wall in front of the sink. Just gorgeous old brick.

Finally, a little blind immediately to the left of the sink. You can see it here, on the left –

It’s about 15″ deep. I was a little befuddled about what to with that blind in my original design. To keep the maximum amount of brick showing, the 24″ cabinet that was originally going above the dishwasher will rotate 90 degrees and hang on the side of the blind. A single door on the cabinet will open onto the brick wall. The blind is deep enough that you won’t see this upper at all when you look straight on at the main kitchen wall.

The other upper cabinet will get made up on the opposite side of the room. The mantel side of the room is what I consider “the dining room”. Sure. The whole thing is just one big (relatively speaking) room but I like have a kitchen & a dining room, so I differentiate between the two. Semantics, I suppose.

Anyway. On the mantel wall –

To the right side of the mantel is a closet that will be used as a pantry. It’s been completely gutted, so add that to the list. The left side of the mantel is about 48″ wide, wall-to-wall. The width of the baseboards and the radiator in front of the window makes it impossible to actually put a 48″ wide bank of cabinets but I can get 36″ centered on the wall and build it in with nooks on either side. I’ll hang a 36″w x 39″h upper cabinet on the wall above it.

This built-in set of upper & base cabinets will get topped with the same counter as the rest of the kitchen and provide additional buffet/serving space.

The third zone of the kitchen is the nook, between the arch to the front hallway and the pocket doors to the living room. While about 26″ wide, it’s not 24″ deep. Luckily, I can it a base cabinet down to make it shallow enough to fit. A 24″ upper hangs on the wall above it with the microwave hanging off the bottom.

The fourth zone of the kitchen will be a rolling island but I don’t quite have that figured out yet. The plan is to get these 3 areas in, finished, and the pantry built out. Then I’ll reassess my storage & counter needs. I anticipate need more counter space to prep on and who couldn’t use more storage? 24″ is a bit deep for an island, given everything else going on in here (dining room table, the fact that the house is only 18′ wide to begin with, etc). 18″ might be perfect but we’ll just have to see when everything else gets finished. I’m staying open to possibilities and options for the island.

So that’s the plan! Hopefully there won’t be any more design changes but you never know.

Lets just start with the obvious.

I didn’t host Thanksgiving.

I planned to.

I really wanted to.

I posted about it.

It didn’t happen.

I thought maybe I’d have everything done by Christmas. Or maybe, at the very least, have running water and therefore be able to host things pot luck style. Nope. That didn’t happen either.

And it’s not because things aren’t getting done. This house has been a project since 2009. You would think that, by now, I’d be a little better at estimating how long things take. Notsomuch.

Surprisingly, I’m very much at peace with how things are going and the progress that is being made. Every week another little thing gets check off the list. The list appears to keep growing. But at least it’s moving in the right direction – forward.

Looking through my past few posts, I realize that I’ve been woefully neglectful keeping this blog updated.

Lots to tell you.

Lots to tell you.

Lets get started.